In recent years, we've increased our focus on coffee seasonality to the point that we roast each year's harvest of a coffee for about 6 months after it arrives, then eagerly await it next year. With the return of Finca Nueva Armenia a few weeks ago, coffees have begun to arrive from the northern hemisphere, and the next few weeks and months will bring an incredible influx.

Coffee Buyer & Quality Manager Tim Hill posted an update about upcoming coffees along with relevant photos on flickr, sharing his unique insight into coffees as varied as a Finca El Puente Yellow Catuai Microlot from Honduras to a Thiriku Peaberry lot from Kenya. These northern hemisphere arrivals reflect the amazing breadth of coffees (sometimes from a single farm) made possible by the long-term relationships our coffee department works to strengthen each year, as well as by their persistent pursuit of new and exciting coffees.

Perennial favorites like Finca Mauritania and Idido Natural Sundried are on their way, along with soon-to-be favorites like Las Milpas and a tiny 400 pound lot of Santa Elena Kenya Type Microlot. Read Tim's coffee update on flickr for details.

Coffee Buyer and Sustainability Manager Kim Elena Ionescu and Independent Evaluation Consultant Hannah Popish worked together on an enlightening study of how coffee farmers value microlots.

The information presented in "Do Microlots Matter to Producers" derives from a study conducted by Counter Culture Coffee and published in March 2012 titled, "The Social Impacts of Microlots: A Coffee Cooperative Case Study in Ihuamaca, Peru." The study aimed to measure the social impacts of microlot selection on members of the CENFROCAFE cooperative in five Peruvian communities where Counter Culture Coffee has purchased coffee over the last five years.

Read more about the microlots study and see the results in the Sustainability section of our website.

The Institute for Sustainable Development chose Counter Culture as its 2012 Sustainable Enterprise of the Year out of the more than 200 companies that participate in the Green Plus triple-bottom-line certification program across 15 states. We were one of the first businesses to sign up for the then-brand-new Green Plus program in 2008, and we have come a long way since then, so it feels especially good to receive this public recognition for our efforts.

Last week's launch of our first-ever advocacy campaign, Save Our Soil, is a great example of how we continue to push our industry and communities to pursue real sustainability.

I am grateful to and appreciative of the role that each of my co-workers has had in making our initiatives successful over these past four years and excited to continue our journey! Go team!

The information presented in "Do Microlots Matter to Producers" derives from a study conducted by Counter Culture Coffee and published in March 2012 titled, "The Social Impacts of Microlots: A Coffee Cooperative Case Study in Ihuamaca, Peru." The study aimed to measure the social impacts of microlot selection on members of the CENFROCAFE cooperative in five Peruvian communities where Counter Culture Coffee has purchased coffee over the last five years.

The hypothesis prior to the study was that microlot coffee production may have both positive and negative impacts on communities, with positive impacts including recognition for effort and a return on investment in quality and negative impacts including feelings of envy and competition among fellow community members. The study design aimed to clarify the elements of microlot coffee production that contribute to its success and the areas that need improvement. Data was collected through 13 semi-structured, open-ended, qualitative interviews with microlot-producing and non-microlot-producing members of the cooperative, two interviews with CENFROCAFE staff members who work in these communities, and one facilitated community meeting.

We examined common themes and differences among members, as well as among members and Cenfrocafe representatives. Both microlot-producing members and non-microlot-producing members expressed support for the program and its continuation. Price incentives and pride emerged as the primary motivators for exerting extra effort, and members unanimously feel supportive of the microlot achievement of other community members. At the same time, all members expressed a desire to see the program evolve to address some commonly-cited areas for improvement, including the cupping and scoring system used by CENFROCAFE and Counter Culture Coffee and the on-farm infrastructure required for production of high-quality coffee. CENFROCAFE's staff demonstrated even more positive feelings overall, with a desire to create more, similar opportunities for growers in other communities of members as a top priority.

Limitations of the study include: small sample size, lack of diversity among sample, consideration for cultural congruency of the research design, and the survey instrument. Recommendations for enhancements of the partnership between CENFROCAFE and members as well as for CENFROCAFE and Counter Culture Coffee are addressed. Suggestions for future research are explored with an emphasis on a more participatory approach and an additional focus on economic impact of microlots.

We want to help to reverse a global trend in agriculture that threatens not only coffee quality, but also sustainable food production, groundwater integrity, and our planet's biodiversity. Our new Save Our Soil campaign aims to raise awareness about the widespread degradation of soil health brought about by conventional, chemical-based agriculture and shed light on the critical importance of organic agriculture as the way forward.

Friday, April 20, Counter Culture Coffee training centers in Asheville, Atlanta, Chicago, Durham, New York, and Washington, DC, will host Save Our Soil launch events, which will include a cupping (tasting) of three different organic coffees followed by a presentation about the campaign.

Over the course of the next year, Counter Culture, our customers, and other partnering organizations will hold Save Our Soil events – from organic food and coffee pairings to home composting workshops and organic farmer round table discussions – focused on education, as well as opportunities for organic advocacy.

Save Our Soil is about solutions, and it carries the positive message that we can solve our soil crisis through organic agriculture, which builds rather than destroys soil health. We simply care too much about great coffee, and the communities that depend on it, to sit by while its future is threatened. We hope to inspire people to join us as fellow organic advocates!

My first real introduction to Bufcafe was through Coffee Common at TED by Detour, a Canadian Roaster based in Ontario. I spent a week working alongside talented baristas cherry-picked from around the world. We enthusiastically and obsessively brewed coffee. We empathetically served our guests at a dizzying speed, exposing them to a number of different coffees selected for taste and transparency with stories of growth and inspiration.

Now, Counter Culture's Bufcafe is herbaceous and bright with a lip-sticking sweetness. Pair this coffee with a pear tart, apricot glaze, and lavender ice cream? Well, then you have something almost too obscene for words … one might say memorable. But, the question always arises, what exactly makes a cup memorable? What makes a cup of coffee inspiring? It can be argued that it is the flavors in the cup itself, but I believe that flavors and tastes that we remember are ultimately things that we ourselves can internalize or perhaps personalize. Read the full story on facebook.

We're always on the lookout for brewing gear to help make great coffee accessible at home and on the go. One of our coffee buyers, Tim Hill, came across the Porlex hand grinder a while back and mentioned it to Brian Ludviksen.

Before leading our customer support team, Brian was our long-time tech manager with a knack for putting gear through its paces to objectively evaluate performance. One of the key measurements of any coffee grinder is the consistency of particle size (to encourage even extraction). Tim and Brian are especially keen on the amount of torque on the ceramic burrs in the Porlex because of its resulting grind consistency.

Lightweight, stainless steel, and extremely portable, the Porlex grinder is perfect for home use and travel for any of the handcrafted coffee methods we recommend in our brewing guide.

By providing incentives to farmers for improving quality – along with information to help them do so – we can help growers sustain and improve the quality of their lives, the environment, and their coffee. An obvious incentive is to pay more for higher quality coffee. Which, of course, we do, though the process is anything but simple for producers and our home office alike.

Our coffee department identifies microlots – small lots of coffees selected to provide unique, exquisite taste experiences – by cupping many, many small lots which have been hand-separated and catalogued by our grower partners, and selecting the very best, often tiny lots. A microlot may come from one grower within a community or cooperative of small growers, or it may represent a small lot separated from a larger farm's lot.

Last week, we welcomed a special microlot from Palanda, Ecuador. The coffee was the produce of a single organic farmer, 75-year-old Luz del Carmen Alverca.

Over the years, we have had our eye on Ecuador, and last year we were finally able to establish a relationship with a group of small, organic coffee farmers based in the mountainous province of Loja. The name El Gavilán (the hawk) perfectly suits their coffee – independent and courageous – just as the small farmers of Loja province are independent, heroic, and dedicated to quality and organic agriculture. This was our first El Gavilán microlot, and we are excited to have the opportunity to get to know coffees from individual farmers in the region.

This exceptional Luz del Carmen Alverca Microlot wasn't around for long, but the premium paid for its incredible quality will, we hope, have long-term benefits among El Gavilán producers.